Lethbridge, Alta., school recruits Canadian icons to share Blackfoot words with students

What do the Calgary Flames, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Clara Hughes and Chris Hadfield have in common? 

Each of them has made a video for Chinook High School in Lethbridge, Alta., sharing a word in the Blackfoot language. 

It's just one of the many initiatives the southern Alberta school is using to promote reconciliation.

Marley HeavyShield, Indigenous grad coach at Chinook who is from the Kainai Nation (Blood reserve) just outside of Lethbridge, said the project got its start during the school's Truth and Reconciliation Week last year. 

The idea to include prominent local and national figures came later, when HeavyShield and Chinook vice-principal Duane Piper wondered how to make it "really, really big."

"It's kind of like, 'How can I get them excited about our language,'" HeavyShield said, adding they realized if a celebrity learns the language, "it means it's cool." 

Piper, a member of Cold Lake First Nation whose traditional name is Nakamos (little singer), said language is closely tied to culture, so language learning is a good way to strengthen culture. 

"My kokum was a fluent Cree speaker and now two generations later as her grandson, I am not a fluent Cree speaker," he said.

"Residential schools put a lot of shame on learning Indigenous languages and that is an enduring harm that continues to this day. I think now that schools can be part of making that right."

Learning Blackfoot today can be a source of pride, rather than shame, he added, and bringing in notable Canadians helps reinforce that idea.

But it isn't always easy getting famous Canadians to take part. Piper said for every 100 emails he sends, he gets about two responses. 

WATCH | Students and celebs help share Blackfoot Word of the Day:

Getting the first guests, astronaut Chris Hadfield and Olympian Clara Hughes, helped get the ball rolling, according to Piper. 

Still, teaching non-native speakers how to pronounce a Blackfoot word can be tricky.